Big Sky makes some pretty solid brews. However, I bought this one as a way to round out a mix a six from a local store. I honestly am not usually a fan of many oatmeal stout beers so I'm going into this one with rather low levels of expectation. But hey, who the fuck knows. Let's drink it.

Look - From the twelve ounce bottle slow poured into a can styled coca cola glass. This brew pours a color leaning towards black but it never quite gets there as ruby hues can still be detected when the beer is held up to the light. Head starts frothy and full with a mocha coloration but it eventually dies down to a thick ring amongst the edges of the glass. Carbonation is still unreadable due to the depth.

Smell - Never have I smelled a stout that was seemingly able to abandon all stout characteristic that you may have come to expect and instead replace them with a straight up nose full of oatmeal. Upon the scent I can quickly realize why this one doesn't tend to be rated all that highly. It smells like a freshly made bowl of oatmeal with perhaps a bit of blueberry flavoring for taste. Not big, but by technicality it is to style interestingly.

Taste - Yeah once again as stated this is a very oatmeal forward stout which seems a bit odd seeing as most 'oatmeal stout' beers seem to forget their true roots. The oats are heavily dominant with a touch of the aforementioned blueberry that was present in the nose. A bit of chocolate also becomes present here. The flavor is basically a bowl of oatmeal in a beer. Not huge but I'd be damned if it weren't to style.

Feel - The body on this brew is grainy if that makes any sense. It even FEELS like oatmeal sitting in your mouth. Thin to moderate temperature dependant with a moderate level of carbonation. Flavors remain all the same and it swallows with a low to moderate amount of bitterness.

Overall - First and foremost this was not a big beer with a lot of flavor. But it accomplished what most of these oatmeal stouts tend to forget. So for that I shall rate it purely to style which it has a leg up on. Easy drinking and flavorful enough. As always try it for yourself and come to your own conclusions.

12oz bottle, part of a pricey (aren't they all right now?) six-pack to recently show up in Alberta.

This beer pours a clear, very dark brown cola colour, with two chubby fingers of puffy, loosely foamy, and fizzy tan head, which leaves some low-lying fog bank lace around the glass as things quickly subside.

The carbonation is adequate in its supportive and structural frothiness, the body a so-so medium weight, and kind of too tacky and clammy to be considered smooth, doubly so given the style. It finishes trending dry, the roast, ash, coffee, and middling hops riding us out to pasture.

Overall, a rather simple (in the dunce hat sort of way) version of an oatmeal stout - light all around, but it's hard to get mad at it, as it is what it is. There's enough flavour to save this one in the end, but those initially small and inconsequential cracks are starting to spread.

In my own opinion, Big Sky products are either hit or miss in a big way. I have had a few of their products I really enjoyed, I have also had a few duds. We will see where this one falls into play. Side poured with standard aggression into a custom Boulevard/Deschutes snifter.

Appearance - Pours a standard dark brown/black pour, with a decent one finger head that displays a bit of retention and lacing. I like the packaging on the beers and bottle, and I like the angle the brewery has, being the only brewery I have heard of in Montana, so they can corner the market on the whole Big Sky state.

Smell - Pretty subdued, there is a bit of malt in there combined with some coffee, dark bread, and a touch of roastiness. Nothing too strong or dominant.

Taste - Much of the same, as the taste is very low key with many of the above characteristics. The roastiness and coffee flavors are a bit strong in the taste, and there is a bit of a whole grain oatmeal taste as well. Pretty good.

Mouthfeel - This is my big beef with this beer. Way too watery, not nearly thick, milky, smooth, or strong enough on the finish. Basically the finish on this beer left a lot to be desired. Very watery and thin, not what you would expect from an oatmeal stout.

Overall - Barring the sorry mouthfeel, this isn't a bad beer. Not a great one, but the mouthfeel really throws it for a loop. Thats my favorite part of a porter or stout of any variation, and this one really tanked it. Although it is worth a try, you may not drink a second. Of course, it may be your favorite beer ever, who knows?

12 ounce bottle into pint glass, best before 12/10/2014. Pours crystal clear very dark brown color with a 1-2 finger dense tan head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of milk chocolate, caramel, cocoa, toasted oats, light coffee, brown bread, herbal, floral, and herbal/toasted earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/roasted/bready malt and moderate earthy hop notes; with solid strength. Taste of milk chocolate, caramel, cocoa, toasted oats, light coffee, brown bread, herbal, floral, and herbal/toasted earthiness. Light herbal/roasted bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of milk chocolate, caramel, cocoa, toasted oats, light coffee, brown bread, and herbal/toasted earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Nice robustness and complexity of dark/roasted/bready malt and moderate earthy hop flavors; with a good malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy, and lightly bready mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is a nice oatmeal stout style. All around good complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roasted/bready malt and moderate earthy hop flavors; and very smooth and easy to drink. Not as bold as some other oatmeal stouts; but still very well rounded and nicely enjoyable in flavors.

Mouthfeel (4) : The milkiness is the first thing I notice. It's totally unusual, and unlike any stout I've had before. Milk and barista-style froth settles and disappears practically instantaneously on the palate. The body is light in texture and weight. The finish is dry and earthy. Mega points for being unique and unusual.

Overall (3.89) : An interesting departure from a typical stout. On a cold night like tonight, this stout fills the bill. Whether it's worthy of a purchase again I can't say for sure. It's not incredible and not awful.

Appearance – The beer pours a nearly pitch black color with a one finger head of a tan colored foam. The head fades very fast leaving only a light level of lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell- The aroma of the brew is heaviest of a roasted malt with tons of oatmeal and caramel. Other big aromas of a cocoa nature are there as well mixed with some hints of a vanilla and an almost cola like smell to produce a very pleasant and inviting warming aroma overall.

Taste – The taste starts with a moderately roasty and sweet flavor with tons of caramel and cola flavors upfront. There is a bit of an oatmeal flavor, which starts out light and remains so throughout to the end of the taste. All the while, as the taste moves forward, the roasted flavor seems to dwindle a bit with it taking on even more cola and a little bit of dark fruit of a more plum like nature. With a little bit of a cherry and some light vanilla coming at the very end, one is left with a moderately sweet and sorta lightly roasted flavor to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is rather thin for a stout of 5.4 % with a carbonation level that is on the average to slightly higher side for a stout. Not really the right feel for the style as it too much accentuated the sweet over the roasted-darker flavor so the brew.

Overall – Not really one I cared for all too much, it was too sweet without enough roast and didn’t really have a great body for the style. Ah… just OK.

Slow Elk is a pleasant oatmeal stout which is smooth and not astringent. While it is not as flavorful as some others of the style (Anderson Valley's come to mind), it's a good sweeter alternative after drinking all those tongue buckling IPA's.

A: Pours a dark brown with ruby highlights around the edges. At first a khaki head rises to over two fingers. Not much lace is left as the foam gently recedes to a ring.
S: Roasted malts, but not overwhelming in that regard. Caramel sweetness and some dry chocolate powder in the finish.
T: Roasted malts up front. Which quickly turns to a caramel sweetness. In the middle, a bit of dry powdered chocolate, which eventually finishes with more caramel sweetness.
M/D: A moderate body and carbonation. Not to heavy for a stout, but still wishing for a bit more umpth. Very smooth, as per the style. Though I enjoy the easy drinking nature here.

Maybe just a tad to sweet in the finish. Though I should not take off to much for that cause many I have had in the style are fairly sweet. A slightly fuller body would not be a bad thing either. Again, not a detriment, overall very enjoyable and will put the six pack to good use.

Trying the Slow Elk for the first time as a desert to a long Friday. The beer poured a black opaque with a thin ecru head that is leaving a spotty lace. The scent is has a nice espresso feel. The taste is a little watery coffee but it is decent. There is a nice sweet toffee after taste which makes one want to keep sipping away. The mouthfeel is lighter in body with smooth carbonation. Overall it's a smooth drinkable stout that is worth a taste.

A- dark brown body, thin white head with lots of bubbles in it, and carbonation apparent on the sides of the glass.

S- Oatmeal is present, with caramel malt sweetness. It's not potent, but if you dig in it's there.

T- It's fairly sweet, a little watery, but great flavor for duration. It doesn't overwhelm the senses and I like that.

M- sprity carbonation and dry. easy drinking with a nice flavor to back it up. not as full bodied as I look for in this style, but I like it's personality.

O- Not a bad beer. I like most of what the big sky brewery kicks out, and this is very unique. Oatmeal stouts usually put me to sleep with their heaviness, but this one keeps me awake and has me reaching for another. I'd hang out with this one once in a while. It's a session stout for me.

A - Dark, black color with just about no light shinning through. The head came and went within a few seconds of pouring. No lacing really.

S - Sweet milk chocolate, coconut and a touch of almond is what I pick up. Slightest bit of herbal hop twang shines through a bit. Sweet and chocolaty smelling overall.

T - Very close to the aroma. It's sweet and chocolaty with a touch of bread or biscuit in there. Citrus and herbal hop twang comes in mid to finish and washes the palate a bit. Bitterness is low, and I also pick up a touch of coconut.

M - Crispness is moderate and cuts through the viscous medium-full body.

O - I think this is a solid Oatmeal Stout that I'd enjoy drinking again. Great price, nothing wowing about it but a good representation of the style i think. Worth a try. Cheers!

Taste: Coffee and chocolate flavors explode as soon as they hit my tongue…oatmeal malt and hops are the underbelly as expected…robust all around leaving very little room for bitterness…apparent it’s a higher alcohol content beer…(3.5/5)

Mouthfeel: Fluffs right up, creating a milk chocolate clouds that lingers…oatmeal and malt flavors consume back of my tongue…one drink lasts a while, but it’s hard to cover the alcohol taste…(4/5)

Overall: The flavor is fantastic, chocolate and coffee notes blend fantastically with the malt and hops…the carbonation makes a cotton candy like fluff that is very flavorful…I recognize that it’s an imperial stout, but the alcohol is a bit too dominant…it could be toned down a bit and that would create a more balanced, flavorful beer…(3.75/5)

O: light body for an oatmeal, nose is pleasant but faint and would like more complexity, the acid-dry taste i guess is from the oatmeal, would like more intense roasted malt flavors. it was worth trying this brew, but next time i might skip it to try a different one.

I picked up a bottle of Big Sky's Slow Elk Oatmeal Stout last week for $1.69 at The Lager Mill. I'm in the mood for a nice Oatmeal Stout tonight and since I've never had this one before I thought I would give it a try, so lets see how it goes. No visible bottling date. Poured from a brown 12oz bottle into an imperial pint glass.

A- The label looks ok, it looks like a cow with elk antlers. It poured a very dark brown color that was bordering on being black and it had a really slight ruby hue when held to the light with two fingers worth of fluffy medium tan head that died down to a thin ring that stayed till the end and left some patchy lacing. This beer looks ok, but I wish the color was a little darker.

S- The aroma starts off with some pretty sweet roasted malts that impart a pretty chocolate syrup like aroma with just hint of black coffee to it. After that comes a medium oat like aroma followed by some molasses and vanilla bean. The aroma was ok, but it was a little on the sweet side with a little to much chocolate syrup.

T- The taste seems to be somewhat similar to the aroma and it starts off with a thin and watered down roasted malt flavor with chocolate and coffee still showing buy they are much lighter then they were in the aroma and the coffee seems to slightly stick out the most. After that comes a pretty grainy and oaty flavor that doesn't have enough roast to balance it out. On the finish there's a hardly any bitterness just a hit of sweetness instead and the aftertaste was very grainy and oaty with just a little bit of roast to it. This beer was pretty average tasting, there wasn't any off flavors but the flavors that were their weren't roasty and rich enough to be as true to style as it should be.

M- Pretty smooth, watery, slightly creamy, on the light side of being medium bodied, with a slightly higher amount of medium carbonation. The mouthfeel was average at best, it wasn't rich and thick enough for the style with a little too much carbonation.

Overall I wasn't impressed with this beer and I thought it was an average at best example of the style, the flavors were too thin and the body was too watery for the style, that's not what I'm looking for in a good Oatmeal Stout. This beer doesn't have the best drinkability, it went down smooth, but the flavors just couldn't hold my attention and the thin body was a turn off so one is more then enough for me. What I liked the most about this beer was the aroma and appearance, they weren't great, but they weren't bad and either and compared to the other aspects of this beer those were the highlights. What I liked the least about this beer was how muted the roasted malt flavors were and how thin and watery the mouthfeel was, they were a pretty big disappointment. I wouldn't buy this beer again, it's priced good, but the quality isn't up to my standards for the style and there's many more Oatmeal Stouts that I would much rather be drinking, I wouldn't recommend this beer to anyone, it's just not worth it. All in all I was let down with this beer, it just didn't deliver what a good Oatmeal Stout should and it left me wanting much more, better luck next time guys, this one turned out to be a miss.

T/M: Burnt chocolate, oats, stale smoke, coffee, vanilla extract, raw organic carrots, musty wood and subtle hints of cayenne. Overall a stale, burnt and rustic flavor. Medium body with aggressive carbonation that is too much for the style and ruins what could be a nice creamy body. A dry finish lingers burnt oats and wood.

O: A decent OS that has a nice balance of flavors. I would have liked the sweet nose to transfer more into the taste. The stale smoke flavor almost overpowered the other flavors. Slow Elk missed the mark for me, but wasn't way off. A decent attempt but not close to a top lister by any means. I can say its better than many I have had though.

Pours an almost opaque super dark brown with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Small streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, toasted oats, and some cocoa aromas. Taste is much the same with an acidic flavor on the finish. There is a medium amount of burnt and roasty bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and thin bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty average beer that has an unexciting flavor and mouthfeel.